The mid-term elections yesterday represent a big change in American politics. The red-state/blue-state divide seems destined for the trash as the American electorate realigns itself as President Trump moves toward the exit. Democrats won statewide races in Kansas, South Carolina and Texas. Even now, they could win the Senate rates in Mississippi and Alaska, as votes there are still being counted. The question for psephologists and political scientists is “did the Democrats win, or is this a case of the Republicans losing?” Put different, did the American voter vote for the Democrats or against the Republicans?
The Republicans came into office in 2024 full of themselves, determined to jam Project 2025 down the throats of the American people. Two years of this bad policy implemented incompetently has resulted in a lost war in Iran, diesel fuel at $6.5o per gallon and mortgage rates at 7%. The US under Mr. Trump has better relations with Russia than with Canada. In short, there is plenty against which to vote.
The Democrats, who swept up House and Senate seats along with governor mansions, stayed on message, and the message was affordability. When the Republicans raised non-issues like transgendered women in sports or the religion of a Muslim candidate, the Democrats replied “that is not why you cannot make ends meet.” They sold themselves as the party that understood the concerns of the voters. That creates hope, and hope is a powerful tool in politics.
Hope is also not a political strategy. Now things get interesting. Presuming the GOP keeps their yahoos from rioting (and the size of the Democratic win seems to have taken the wind out of their sails), the Democratic Congress will have to figure out how to work with the president — and vice versa. There is a school of thought that says the party should be careful in pursuing impeachments and should focus on getting things done. This appeal to the center is enticing. It is also a recipe for losing the presidency in 2028.
The Democratic base is not willing to forgive and forget. After all the administration has done in the first two years of this second term, vengeance is out but accountability (which may look like vengeance) is not. Pete Kegsbreath, Kash Patel and Todd Blanche should leave now. If the White House does not remove them, the Democrats will try to remove them. Impeaching them in the House is a certainty if the new Speaker puts the motion on the floor. Convicting them in the Senate may prove difficult, but not impossible. Distancing themselves from the White House is something the GOP members will want to do; voting to convict these clowns would do that.
The president has said he will veto everything they send him from Congress, and he may well do so. Gerald Ford governed by veto without a real disaster befalling him; he almost won the 1976 election. Mr. Trump could do the same.
By the same token, he might want to find a way to pass some legislation that makes him look good. The Democrats won, and if his bromance with Zohran Mamdani in New York is anything by which to go, Mr. Trump likes winners to like him.
The ugly truth is that the American system will prevent the Democrats from accomplishing very much. The presidential veto leaves the White House free to do as it likes. If Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is elected Majority Leader (almost a certainty), he will have to make sure lots of bills pass that set the stage for the 2028 race. If Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is elected Speaker of the House (also a dead certainty), he will need to pass a budget that does what the Democrats want and dare the president to veto it. If he does, it is something on which to run. If not, it will be a win.
The question is what will be in those bills, what will that budget pay for? This is no time for shyness. It is time for something ambitious. The American people have lost their patience. The Democrats need to get something done, or 2028 will see this swing back.